SIX TYPES OF COMPREHENSION AND

FIVE FORMS OF QUESTIONS

Richard R. Day
University of Hawaii at Manoa
and
Jeong-suk Park
Gyeongsang National University
REPRESENTED IN POWERPOINT
By
DODDY NOVARIANTO
TYPES OF COMPREHENSION
1. Literal comprehension
2. Reorganization
3. Inference
4. Prediction
5. Evaluation
6. Personal response
1. LITERAL COMPREHENSION
Literal comprehension refers to an
understanding of the straightforward meaning
of the text, such as facts, vocabulary, dates,
times, and locations.
Questions of literal comprehension can be
answered directly and explicitly from the text.
To make sure that students have understood
the basic or surface meaning of the text.
EXAMPLE
How many types of comprehension do the
authors discuss?
Who is the author of that text?
2. REORGANIZATION
Reorganization is based on a literal understanding
of the text; students must use information from
various parts of the text and combine them for
additional understanding.
Reorganization teach students to examine the text
in its entirety, helping them move from a sentence-
by-sentence consideration of the text to a more
global view.
Students generally find reorganization questions
somewhat more difficult than straightforward literal
comprehension questions.
EXAMPLE
We might read at the beginning of a text that
a woman named Maria Kim was born in 1945
and then later at the end of the text that she
died in 1990.
Question: How old was Maria Kim when she died?

(In order to answer this question, How old was Maria Kim
when she died?, the student has to put together two pieces of
information that are from different parts of the text)

3. INFERENCE

Students may initially have a difficult time
answering inference questions because the
answers are based on material that is in the
text but not explicitly stated.
An inference involves students combining their
literal understanding of the text with their own
knowledge and intuitions.

EXAMPLE
Are the authors of this article experienced
language teachers?

(It is not state in the text, but students can
learn from a paragraph that the author must be
an English teacher)

4. PREDICTION
Prediction, involves students using both their
understanding of the passage and their own
knowledge of the topic and related matters in a
systematic fashion to determine what might
happen next or after a story ends.
While-Reading Prediction
Post-Reading Prediction
EXAMPLE
Do you think they will stay married?
Why or why not?
5. EVALUATION
Evaluation requires the learner to give a global
or
comprehensive judgment about some aspect
of the text.

In order to answer this type of question,
students must use both a literal understanding
of the text
and their knowledge of the text's topic and
related issues
EXAMPLE
How will the information in this article be useful
to you?
6. PERSONAL RESPONSE
Personal response requires readers to respond
with their feelings for the text and the subject.
The answers are not found in the text; they
come strictly from the readers.
While no personal responses are incorrect,
they cannot be unfounded; they must relate to
the content of the text and reflect a literal
understanding of the material.
EXAMPLE
What do you like or dislike about this article?
FORMS OF QUESTIONS
Yes/no questions
Alternative questions
True/False
Wh- questions
Multiple-choice